The 2025 NHL Entry Draft is set to kick off on Friday and while it’s not an overly exciting draft for the Toronto Maple Leafs – who only have six picks starting with the 64th overall selection, as of now – the team will still be looking for value in their late-round selections.
When the Maple Leafs brought in Mark Leach as their director of amateur scouting last summer, he brought in a long history of value picks over a 31-year career. Sure, there are still possible moves the Maple Leafs could make to land an earlier pick in the draft. However, as it stands now, the team will select 64th overall before picking at 95, 137, 153, 185 and 217. Simply put, Leach and the Maple Leafs will have to look for diamonds in the rough with their limited selections.
David Bedkowski, Owen Sound Attack
While their second pick in the draft isn’t until the end of the third round, one player the Maple Leafs could look to land out of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) is Owen Sound Attack defenceman David Bedkowski.
At the NHL Combine, one storyline that came out was that the Maple Leafs were talking to a lot of big defensemen during the interview process of the week. This comes one season after the team drafted Ben Danford with their first selection in the 2024 NHL Draft.
But it’s a position that you can never have too many of and considering most of the top playmakers will be off the board by the time the 95th pick rolls around, another big, physical defenceman could be the way to go for Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs. Enter Bedkowski.
Bedkowski started the season with the Oshawa Generals in 2024-25, but was moved to the Attack and went on to score three goals and seven points in 35 games for Owen Sound. He skates well and isn’t afraid to join the rush when the opportunity presents itself. He occasionally unloads a cannon from the point, but it’s not his offensive skill that he’s known for.
He plays with a big physical edge and has a mean streak that can land opposing players in tough positions. He angles well in the defensive zone and understands when to step up for those bone-crushing hits. It might not be the most obvious choice considering they Maple Leafs need offensive support from their back end moving forward, but this selection would give them options when both Danford and Bedkowski are ready to make the jump.
Carter Klippenstein, Brandon Wheat Kings
His performance at the combine could drive his draft stock up, but if he’s available when the Maple Leafs step up to select at 137th, there’s no question they have to take Carter Klippenstein.
He’s a player that can still add some muscle and size, but at six-foot-three, this left-winger is a no-brainer for the Maple Leafs as this draft carries on. Even while cooking up some mock drafts, he was available pick 185 for the Maple Leafs. However, I’m not sure I’d let him slip to that point as they might miss out on this pick.
At the NHL Combine, Klippenstein tested extremely well amongst his peers. He became a conversation point amongst some of the reporters as a guy who could climb draft boards based simply on his physical testing – which isn’t always a driving point for teams come draft day.
He had 14 goals and 28 points in 58 games for the Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League (WHL) this past season and while his offensive play could use a slight boost, he provides good depth in a middle-six role. That, on top of his size, should be a focus for the Maple Leafs as he’s a guy that can win puck battles and add a physical edge in the middle six.
Something that the Maple Leafs have struggled with is puck retrieval and that’s something that Klippenstein excels in with his game. He does have the hands as well to create opportunities and that shouldn’t be lost in his overall numbers the last couple of seasons in the WHL. If he’s available, the Maple Leafs need to look at Klippenstein as a possible option in the fifth round.
Tuomas Suoniemi, Kiekko-Espoo U20
It might be late, but every once in a while these late-round picks can make it to the NHL. Look at Patric Hornqvist’s journey and his NHL career that followed. With that in mind, the Maple Leafs have the 217th pick in the draft and, while this player’s NHL career may never come to fruition, the team should look at Finnish forward Tuomas Suoniemi.
The 19-year-old can play both centre and the wing, and while his size isn’t anything to write home about, he is a skilled forward that can use his playmaking and skating to beat defenders one-on-one. With his under-20 (U20) program this past season, he had 15 goals and 46 points in 37 games and even got a call up to the big club in the Liiga for one game. His production didn’t slow down in the playoffs adding 14 points in 13 games which should be taken into account even if it was at the U20 level.
Related: 2025 NHL Draft – Forbes’ Top 128 Final Rankings
Finns have a tendency to play any role up and down a lineup and that buy-in factor could be something the Maple Leafs can use in redefining their overall team identity. He wins puck battles and plays with a feisty edge for his size. It may be a bit of a toss-up at this point in the draft, but this is where Leach’s expertise will come into play and Suoniemi could be a player the Maple Leafs take a closer look at beyond the top-200.
In the end, a good scouting staff will find some of those sleepers in a draft with such a tight, possibly undervalued, talent pool. It may be one of the more difficult positions he’s been in over his 31-year career, but Leach will have an uphill battle at the 2025 NHL Draft.
